they came till the hills were covered with red caps, and it was speedily apparent that they far outnumbered the Russians. Ten, twenty, yes, forty thousand Turks were there to confront the Russian column, less than ten thousand strong, and having the advantage of position on the hills above the Russians. The latter made a heroic defence, but it was of no use. Nearly 3,000 men and 74 officers were killed or wounded, and so many artillery horses were killed that the Russians abandoned seventeen caissons and several guns. The Russians retired to Nicopolis, and the Turks set to work to strengthen Plevna, as they realized that the Russians would speedily attempt its capture.
A few days sufficed to put Plevna in condition to resist attacks, as the Turks are adepts in the construction of fortifications. Careful students of the military operations in Bulgaria in 1877-78 say that the Turks far excelled the Russians in this line of work; the Turkish soldier fights far better behind entrenchments than in the open field, while the matter of protection does not make a great difference to the Russian. In this campaign the Russians found what they had never before encountered—the long-range rifles in the hands of the Turks did effective work before the Russian breech-loaders could get within shooting distance. The Russians learned a lesson in intrenching and protecting themselves behind cover, but they did not learn it until after many a good soldier had bitten the dust.
From the 20th to the 30th of July the Russians were engaged in bringing up reinforcements and getting ready for another attack. An order came for the assault of the Turkish position; Baron Krudener did not believe the assault advisable, but the command of the Grand Duke Nicholas left him no discretion. The baron and his engineers had studied the Turkish position with great care, and realized that there would be a heavy loss of men in attacking the
